Pope Declares Blessed Margaret a Saint

A blind 14^th century lay Dominican has been declared a saint through a process called a “equipollent” canonization.

In a press release on April 24, the Holy See said Pope Francis decided to extend to the universal Church the cult of Blessed Margaret following a meeting with his Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

She now becomes a saint through a process also referred to as “equivalent” canonization. This is a process where the requirement for a miracle is waived by the pope.

Margaret of Castello was born in 1287 in Metola. In 1303, her parents abandoned her at a shrine in Città di Castello. The local people found her and began taking care of her.

She was later admitted to the Third Order of St. Dominic.

Margaret opened a small school in her neighborhood, where she taught kids the Psalms. She died in 1320, aged 33. She was buried inside the church, and many people associate her tomb with miracles.

Margaret of Castello was declared Blessed by Pope Paul V in 1609.

In 2012, Benedict XVI declared Hildegard of Bingen a saint through equipollent canonization.

In 2013, Pope Francis declared Angela of Foligno and Peter Faber saints through equipollent canonization.

 Others who have been declared saints through the procedure include José de Anchieta, Marie of the Incarnation, and François de Laval de Montmorency in 2014, and Bartholomew of Braga in 2019.

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